It had to be you
by Vick Pena
Summary: a short reminder of the meaning of love


Vick says: this is a little reminder of what real love is, I want to thank my partner Moxie who edited it and said it was worth to be posted, I hope you all like it and send emails with your comments.  
  
Ah, y por supuesto, un saludo a mi autora favorita en Malasia, Amy de Kanter quien nos trae, en sus obras, todo el romance de la temporada 3, que es, sin duda alguna, mi favorita. ¡Ajúa!  
  
Tenías que ser tú... It had to be you...  
  
A Frasier Romance in one chapter  
  
By Vick vickpena@yahoo.com.mx  
  
  
  
Romance?  
  
Ha!  
  
Who needs romance?  
  
Love?  
  
What the hell is love anyway?  
  
A book flew out of the library in a very elegant arc, landing next to the others piled up in the corridor.  
  
Romeo and Juliet... resting next to other classics... all of them about romance and love....  
  
Romance!?  
  
Total B.S.  
  
He had been in his library for two hours, weeding out books he now considered a waste of time. All of them spoke to the lie of love. All reminders of his failure. Of a supposed romance with a sweet woman called Daphne...  
  
HA!  
  
A romance that would never exist, of course. An impossible love... for she, just a few days earlier, had gotten engaged before his eyes.. to his divorce attorney, no less. A devastating event he'd been forced to witness, unable to escape.  
  
And the worst part was that it was his own fault.  
  
Another book crash-landed onto the pile, sending Romeo and Juliet to the other side. There were now at least 15 books there.  
  
Niles sipped his sherry and continued looking for the next book to discard...ah! Here it is...he pulled it off the shelf and looked at the cover. It was an old edition of 'Gone with the Wind he'd been given when he was in high school. More romance to the can!  
  
As Scarlet O'Hara flew out of the room he walked to the bar, his dressing gown moving graciously. He refilled his glass and made a mental note to get another bottle as he emptied it.  
  
The bottle crashed into the wall across the corridor.  
  
Not important.  
  
What was important was to get rid of all the lies...who could believe poems were romantic? Off you go, little book....  
  
He threw it with a toss of his hand.  
  
The last thing he expected was to hear it complain.  
  
"OUCH!"  
  
He swirled around.  
  
Daphne was standing there.  
  
"Dr. Crane? Whatever are you doing?" she asked, laughing and holding the book.  
  
"Daphne...I am so sorry!" he said. "I didn't know you were there. How did you get in?"  
  
"The door was open, I thought you wouldn't mind."  
  
He shook his head. "Of course not, Daphne..." He started to smile, but the sight of her engagement ring wiped it from his face. He had to mask his feelings. Any romantic feelings for her were now more than in the past. "I was just doing some clearing out..." Niles explained, continuing with his labor.  
  
He heard her step closer.  
  
"Can I help?" she offered.  
  
He paused. "I don't think so, Daphne," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I am getting rid of books I don't want anymore, and I think I am the only one who can choose them."  
  
Daphne sighed and stood next to him, caressing the book she held. "Well," she said. "I could help you clean up the mess you've made in the hall. "  
  
Niles shook his head. "No, thank you, Daphne, please leave them there...you don't have to help."  
  
Daphne looked quizzically at him. He was busy reading the inside cover of a book.  
  
"Dr. Crane..." she said timidly.  
  
"Yes, Daphne?"  
  
"I guess I should leave you alone. You're busy and I am bothering you."  
  
Damn, he thought as he felt his heart shrinking in his chest. She is engaged and whatever she is here to say can be nothing you want to hear, old Niles. Want to know how wonderful Donny is? Be my guest. Want to hear that she is the happiest woman in the world? Fine. Just try not to say anything stupid, ok?  
  
But Daphne was not in the room anymore.  
  
No!  
  
"Daphne!" He hurried out of the library and rushed into the living room.  
  
She was almost out the front door when he grabbed her by the arm.  
  
"Please...Daphne... " he said, apologetically. "Don't go..."  
  
She blinked.  
  
"I.." He dragged her inside and closed the door. "I'm sorry, I was so deeply focused on my books I forgot my manners." Niles smiled, hoping to find one from her. He did. "Please stay... would you like some tea?"  
  
Daphne didn't answer. She just let him take her into the kitchen where he promptly put the kettle on the stove.  
  
She sat down.  
  
He breathed deeply and sat across the table.  
  
"Dr. Crane told me you loved your books but he never told me how much...I think now I know," she said and chuckled. "For a moment I thought you didn't want me here."  
  
Niles smiled nervously. "That could never be." he said.  
  
Daphne leaned back.  
  
"I understand how you must be feeling, Dr. Crane," she said, "and I don't blame you."  
  
He looked at her questioningly. "What?"  
  
She rose and walked around the table, fetching the tea bags and two cups.  
  
"The way I talked to you the other night ...you are such a good friend and I dumped all my fears and confusion on you."  
  
Oh, no. She does not want to talk about 'The night Donny proposed to her', does she?  
  
Niles sure didn't.  
  
"Don't worry, Daphne, it is already forgotten."  
  
"No, it isn't," she insisted.  
  
"No, Daphne. I was happy to be of help with your fear of commitment," he lied, holding a handkerchief to his nose, which, naturally, had begun to bleed.  
  
Luckily she was not looking at him. "Really?"  
  
"Of course." Maybe the truth would help. "Daphne, your happiness is most important to me."  
  
The bleeding stopped. Niles quickly pocketed the handkerchief.  
  
Daphne looked at him fondly.  
  
"Thank you, Dr. Crane."  
  
He stood up. "For what?" he smiled. "For thinking you deserve the very best and that the one who wins your heart receives the most precious treasure there is?" He sighed. "You're welcome."  
  
Suddenly he was being taken into a hug.  
  
He hugged her back, conscious that this moment would soon end. She would be even farther from him and these moments of intimacy would be no more. So why not enjoy her presence for now? How could he not savor this little gift destiny brought him this night?  
  
He felt her hug him tightly, the kind of embrace you give when you want to hold on to someone. He wished this moment could last forever. He wanted to stop time and be here for eternity, holding her in the kitchen, feeling her heart pounding as hard as his...  
  
And, like the few times he had held her in the past, he wished she could know... find out how he felt. He wished she could know that, for Niles Crane, there was no woman after her. It was Daphne or no one. And it was his choice to remain alone forever...for he knew she would never love him back beyond friendship.  
  
She pulled back, slowly, breaking the spell.  
  
Her eyes locked with his.  
  
He held his breath.  
  
She leaned closer.  
  
Niles closed his eyes and felt her soft kiss on his cheek.  
  
Sadly he opened his eyes.  
  
She was moving out of the kitchen, walking backwards.  
  
"Tell me you always will be here..." she pleaded, "and that nothing will ever change between us?"  
  
"I will be right here for you," he said, his words loaded with emotion. Be it his imagination or hope, he clearly saw her let go of a sob. "Always..."  
  
"I love him, you know?" she said, now at the door. It sounded like an apology.  
  
"I know." He tried to smile. "I am happy for you."  
  
"Really?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"Daphne ...I wish you the very best," he said, sincerely, looking away.  
  
"Thank you. Good bye, Niles... "  
  
He stood in the kitchen for a long time after she left.  
  
Finally he took the kettle off the stove. Grabbing a bottle of scotch, headed back to the library.  
  
But this time he had another chore to do.  
  
The pile of books was still in the hallway.  
  
Those books of love and romance...all of them reminders of his failed love...  
  
Niles picked up three books and walked into the library, placing them on their shelves.  
  
Love cannot be discarded, he mused. Love remains beyond the broken heart. Love...is something we give ...  
  
Love means keeping a secret when you know that telling the woman you love about your feelings will make her suffer.  
  
Love is something we carry with us forever, like a bittersweet memory...  
  
Progressively, the books returned to their places. While he worked he continued thinking about how much he loved Daphne. And that somehow, she knew it. His feelings were so strong that they were visible to her in some unspoken way.  
  
Niles placed the last two books on their proper shelves. Then something fell to the floor.  
  
He picked it up and was most surprised to see a photo of Daphne, slipped into a book.  
  
He looked at the book cover and recognized it as one he'd once read to her when she was ill. Such a long time ago. how that book ended up there eluded him. And the photo...he had never seen it...  
  
There was something written on the back of the photo.  
  
As he read a joyful smile spread across his face.  
  
'For you, Niles, to keep me near when you feel sad. I will be always with you no matter how far I go... please keep me in your heart because you have won a privileged place in mine. Daphne.'  
  
Niles left the book on the shelf and sat in desk chair, holding the photo.  
  
Daphne.  
  
Niles sighed and, smiling, thought that only one person would ever remind him what love really means...  
  
Only one person in the world.  
  
"Of course..." Niles said, smiling at the irony and getting up. "It had to be you, Daphne."  
  
A few minutes later, the photo, and the book she'd brought and left without him noticing, occupied a privileged place in his library.  
  
THE END  
  
  
  
Thank you for reading this story, please feel free to email vickpena@yahoo.com.mx with your feedback... 


End file.
